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Room size

post #1 of 11
12/1/07 at 10:37am
Thread Starter 
Greetings!

This is my first of what I might assume to be many posts, so a short introduction may be in order.

I have a dedicated HT (empty and ready) in my new house. I have an *old* TV, used exclusively for movie rentals. No cable or satellite. I've been waiting on DD to graduate college before I got into the whole home theater thing.

So that day will finally arrive in December, and I'm ready. I've been reading extensively here, reading company websites, visiting stores, etc.

My first question - I see many references to room size, but hardly ever are the specific sizes mentioned. The usual phrase is "smaller" or "larger". My room is roughly 225 square feet, and shaped somewhat like a stop sign. Octagonal, if you will......but not symmetrical. It started out on paper as symmetrical, but early on we went looking for theater seating and decided we needed a bigger back wall, so the the back wall became square. We just squared up what was angled walls at the rear of the room. The TV wall is parallel to the back wall, and 14 feet away. The two side walls are also 14 feet from each other.

Is this a really small room? I'm asking because I don't want to overbuy the sound system. I'm not interested in big sound, just sonic clarity.
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post #2 of 11
12/1/07 at 3:26pm

Re: Room size

Quote:
I see many references to room size, but hardly ever are the specific sizes mentioned. The usual phrase is "smaller" or "larger". My room is roughly 225 square feet,
There may be an official guideline but I've never seen it. So how about less than 225 as small, greater than 375 as large and everything in between as medium? Of course, ceiling height has to be factored in as well.
Quote:
I don't want to overbuy the sound system. I'm not interested in big sound, just sonic clarity
Unless you get an entry level H/K at 30 wpc, which still might be enough, or some avr that claims 100wpc but really has 25-30, you're probably going to get more than you need anyway. I currently have an H/K 435 (65 wpc) in a 14.5 X 19.5 room and even though I listen at moderate levels I still have plenty of gas pedal left. And even though I feel that there is a slight difference in sound quality between some brands/models of receivers, speakers are going to make a much bigger difference in sonic clarity. Thats where you really need to do your homework.
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post #3 of 11
12/3/07 at 5:49pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Room size

Thanks Gene,

Doing homework with speakers means listening to them. I want to hear Polk, but the only dealer here is Circuit City, and they haven't had any hooked up when I was in the store. Actually, there aren't that many sound stores nearby, and they mostly sell the same brands as the major stores. What's a guy to do? One of the high end design studios carries Paradigm, also on my list. Those are my only real options.
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post #4 of 11
12/3/07 at 10:08pm

Re: Room size

A 5.1 setup would work fine, and 6.1 or 7.1 might just distort the sound because the room is so small. Don't be suckered into a 7.1 system. As far as speaker setups, rest assured Polk Audio makes a crisp, clean, phenomenal sounding speaker. I especially like their Surround Bars, but that's another story. Klipsh is another good speaker to buy for the money, while not top end, you get clarity from a speaker comparable to that of a more expensive speaker, without the price tag. What TV are you getting to go with it?
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post #5 of 11
12/4/07 at 7:38am

Re: Room size

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jubelet
Thanks Gene,

Doing homework with speakers means listening to them. I want to hear Polk, but the only dealer here is Circuit City, and they haven't had any hooked up when I was in the store. Actually, there aren't that many sound stores nearby, and they mostly sell the same brands as the major stores. What's a guy to do? One of the high end design studios carries Paradigm, also on my list. Those are my only real options.

What state do you live in? Do you have any other place rather then Circuit City or Best Buy to listen to speakers?

-Nick-
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post #6 of 11
12/5/07 at 4:18pm

Re: Room size

Quote:
Actually, there aren't that many sound stores nearby, and they mostly sell the same brands as the major stores. What's a guy to do?
I agree completely. There are so many brands available that it would be near impossible to listen to more than a comparable handful. Listenning to them yourself is really the only way to do it, but if you stated a budget, how many you need (5.1,7.1, a stereo pair, etc.), small/large bookshelves or towers, maybe we could recommend a few to get you started.
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post #7 of 11
12/14/07 at 1:29am

Re: Room size

Quote:
6.1 or 7.1 might just distort the sound because the room is so small
Interesting - in the UK a 200 sq ft room would be considered large and ideal for a larger, more powerful set of speakers with 6.1 or 7.1 ... I have 6.1 in a rather smaller space and it works fine.The only thing I would say is that 6.1 IMHO is nice, but not a phenomenal gain over 5.1. In other words, if you have it, great, but if you don't, then it isn't worth the expense to upgrade to.

Quote:
I'm not interested in big sound, just sonic clarity.
In my experience, generally clarity generally improves the bigger the maximum sound output of the product (simply because manufacturers generally put better quality components in their more expensive systems and also generally make these more powerful, assuming that wealthier customers will have bigger rooms). This isn't automatically the case, but it's a reasonable working hypothesis. However, there is a simple enough solution if you find a system you like that's a bit too powerful for your room - turn the volume (especially on the subwoofer) down. There's no law saying that you have to pump up the volume to max.
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post #8 of 11
12/14/07 at 8:31am

Re: Room size

Quote:
Interesting - in the UK a 200 sq ft room would be considered large
My living room is 19.5 X 14.5 which I would consider on the big side of medium but not large. My family room, actually more like a "rumpus room", (remember those?) but I can't get myself to use the word "rumpus", is 18 X 13 but only 10 X 13 is used for tv watching. I would say 10 X 13 is definently small.
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In my experience, generally clarity generally improves the bigger the maximum sound output of the product (simply because manufacturers generally put better quality components in their more expensive systems and also generally make these more powerful, assuming that wealthier customers will have bigger rooms). This isn't automatically the case
Very true. I've always thought internal components should at least be mentioned when comparing receivers but they usually aren't. Features, price and reliability seem to be the biggest selling points.
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post #9 of 11
12/14/07 at 3:07pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Room size

Quote:
What TV are you getting to go with it?

I have a Samsung 40" LCD.

Quote:
What state do you live in? Do you have any other place rather then Circuit City or Best Buy to listen to speakers?

Asheville, NC. I have all the usual electronics stores, plus the big box stores, plus a couple of high-end audio stores. The audio stores are where I really should go to get a good sound comparison, but I'd much rather buy from the big retailers.

Quote:
but if you stated a budget, how many you need (5.1,7.1, a stereo pair, etc.), small/large bookshelves or towers, maybe we could recommend a few to get you started.

Oh, I don't know. On paper, I'd like to spend as little as possible, but in practice, I'll probably spend around $500-$1000. My room is wired for a 5.1, but that *could* change. (the room is finished minimally - drywall and paint, so before I go too far with details, I could fix some things behind the walls) I think small bookshelf speakers would be most suitable.

Quote:
In my experience, generally clarity generally improves the bigger the maximum sound output of the product

Generally, I agree too. However, I have an old Mitsubishi stereo receiver that began to generate static stemming from worn out controls. I replaced it with a Sony receiver, priced lower, but much more powerful. It sucked. I can't always hear minor differences in sound equipment, but I could sure hear that. So I had the old one repaired, and years later, I still use it. The new Sony went back in the box, where it is today. That being said, I think the speakers can only reproduce what signal is handled well through the amplification process. If the receiver ain't no good, no speaker will do the material justice.
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post #10 of 11
12/15/07 at 6:01am

Re: Room size

Quote:
I would say 10 X 13 is definently small
Without a word of a lie - in most modern Brit houses, that would be a typical living room, that would be expected to be the room that mom, dad and two kids would use as their main room (can you begin to see why we end up being so uptight and obsessional about manners? - it's either that or go postal). Rumpus rooms are unknown in UK houses (we don't have basements either). If you've seen the Dursley's house in the Harry Potter films, that is on the larger side of average for a modern Brit house.

Anyway, back on topic: Jubelet, I agree that there are definite exceptions. I have a very nice Panasonic digital home theatre (sorry, I mean theater) amp that bucks the trend - not very powerful, but within its volume range wonderfully clear and with a fantastic range of features. But if going by the 'more power = better' rule slavishly I'd never have looked at it. To add to the joy, I bought it as a 'manager's special' in a store because it was ex-display (note - never used, just been on a display shelf) and the store had lost the instruction booklet and box. Cost new - $800; sold to me for $60.
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post #11 of 11
12/15/07 at 10:02pm

Re: Room size

Quote:
Oh, I don't know. On paper, I'd like to spend as little as possible, but in practice, I'll probably spend around $500-$1000. My room is wired for a 5.1, but that *could* change. (the room is finished minimally - drywall and paint, so before I go too far with details, I could fix some things behind the walls) I think small bookshelf speakers would be most suitable.
Of the internet brands at that price the SVS 5.1 and the XL-S from av123.com packages seem to be the most popular choices around hear. I haven't heard either one but I trust the opinion of those here who have. Also, the Acculine series from theaudioinsider.com is very good for the price. I have heard the A1's for a brief time and they're worth every penny. On the cheaper side, two pair of the Athena AS-B1.2's and the AS-C1.2 center for $300+ from audioadvisor.com is a good bargain for a decent speaker. I'm having a harder time recommending too many speakers at big box stores because internet brands seem to offer more for the money but Polk RTi's (RTi4's and RTi8's in particular) are on closeout at excellent prices. Get your sub elsewhere though. A neighbor of mine has Definitive Technology's Pro Cinema 800 sub-satillite system and it sounds great. Better than I thought it would. Of course, speakers should be heard first but these (and maybe Infinity's Beta series) are the ones that I'd look at first.
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I replaced it with a Sony receiver, priced lower, but much more powerful
If it was one of their lower priced units it probably wasn't that much more powerful.
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That being said, I think the speakers can only reproduce what signal is handled well through the amplification process. If the receiver ain't no good, no speaker will do the material justice.
I think a really good speaker can sound pretty good with a below average receiver, but a really good receiver won't make average speakers sound too much better. A balanced system is the way to go.
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